


Lay Me Gently in the Cold Dark Earth

by oobi



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Mythology, Angst with a Happy Ending, M/M, Minor Character Death, My First Work in This Fandom, Please Don't Hate Me, bucky is the god of death what do you expect, reaper!bucky
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-28
Updated: 2015-07-28
Packaged: 2018-04-11 18:47:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4447571
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oobi/pseuds/oobi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It all started when Sarah Rogers made a deal.</p>
<p>It wasn’t just any deal, Sarah Rogers made a deal with the god of death. She always saw him at the hospital, taking away the patients she worked so hard to keep alive. She watched them bargain, each one of them begging for their lives while she stood at their doors. Sarah knew everyone had their own time, and she was never scared of death.</p>
<p>
  <em>But please, not her son.</em>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lay Me Gently in the Cold Dark Earth

**Author's Note:**

> So this is the first thing I've ever written?? Originally inspired by [this post](http://caroldancers.tumblr.com/post/123328589434/okay-but-steve-somehow-in-some-way-being-tied-to), but I kind of ran away with it. The title was inspired by Hozier's "Work Song", which is actually the perfect song for this fic :D

It all started when Sarah Rogers made a deal.

It wasn’t just any deal, Sarah Rogers made a deal with the god of death. She always saw him at the hospital, taking away the patients she worked so hard to keep alive. She watched them bargain, each one of them begging for their lives while she stood at their doors. Sarah knew everyone had their own time, and she was never scared of death.

_But please, not her son._

Sarah looked down at her newborn son, and she knew that Steven’s weak body would never survive the night. So when the god of death arrived, Sarah didn’t beg. No, she knew it would never work, and Sarah was too stubborn to do so anyways. She made a deal with the god of death, a deal that would stop her from keeping anyone else from him. And when Joseph Rogers came to his wife’s bedroom in the morning, Steven lay sleeping in his still mother’s arms.

Bucky made a Deal.

Sarah Rogers had been causing problems for him all over New York, working double time in hospitals to save as many people from him as she could. Bucky was _tired goddamnit,_ tired of waiting to steal them from her whenever Sarah wasn’t watching. so when she offered to trade her life for her son’s, he agreed. But before she crossed into the afterlife, she made Bucky promise. _Promise you’ll take care of him. you watch over my son, that boy is gonna do great things._ So bucky made a deal, and he watched as sickly baby Steven grew into an even sicker young Steve.

Steve never made deal.

Steve started fights at every chance he got, took long walks in the freezing cold winter, did whatever he could to test the god of death. His father told him how his ma had died, and Steve made sure that he took full advantage of the gift she gave him. So Steve would test the god of death, and every time he was on the brink of death Bucky would show up and have to finish his fights for him.

_I had ‘em on the ropes.  
Sure ya did, punk._

Ever since Bucky made that deal with Sarah Rogers, he’s done nothing but pay for the mistake he made. This is why he never messed with the natural order of things, that boy Steve did nothing but try and get himself killed. He’s spent more time trying to keep him alive than he has taking other people’s lives. But he made a deal, so he had to come running after Steve every time he stayed out in the cold for too long, or started a fight with someone twice his size.

Steve’s gotten himself in too deep.

After a while, Steve stops telling himself that he’s trying to fulfill his ma’s wishes and realizes that he’s gone and fallen in love with the god of death. Steve knows that he’s done himself over when he starts picking fights to see Bucky again instead of to do what’s right. But Bucky doesn’t seem to mind, and the more they see each other the closer they get to each other.

Bucky _knows_ he’s in too deep.

Every time Steve so much as coughs, Bucky comes running to make sure he’s alright. Bucky grows to be terrified of the idea of losing Steve, ‘cause not even he knows what happens in the afterlife. So Bucky does what he can to protect Bteve. But then war happens, and Bucky is the busiest he’s been in a long time. He misses Steve every day that passes by without a chance to see him, and only when he’s away bringing death to young soldiers does Bucky realize he’s in love with him.

Steve can’t find Bucky anymore.

He keeps trying to enlist, thinking that maybe Bucky will try to stop him. His heart aches and he knows it’s not just because he’s sick again. He never stops trying, keeps looking for ways to bring Bucky back to him. He knows it’s selfish, but when Erksine tells him that he’ll take Steve all he can think is that _maybe Bucky will finally come and see me again._

Bucky can’t stop screaming.

He knows that no one else in the laboratory can hear him, but Steve’s in that machine and he can feel him dying, feel the deal he made breaking. He’s going to lose Steve and it’s because he was too goddamn busy to help him. But then Steve comes out bigger and healthy and doesn’t need Bucky’s protection anymore, and Bucky promises that he’ll never leave Steve’s side again.

Steve can’t hold back his tears.

The plane is going to crash, he’s lost any connection he had, and he knows that there’s no way Bucky can save him this time. This is where his life is going to end. Bucky stayed with him through the whole war, protecting him while he fought. Steve has no idea how Bucky did his job while he was at Steve’s side, he never bothered to ask. But the plane is going into the water, and Steve’s last thought is _I love you._

Bucky can’t do it.

He can’t take Steve’s life from him. He knows Sarah Rogers was right now, he’s seen all the good Steve has done for the world and he doesn’t think he’ll ever be able to take his life. So he doesn’t. He leaves Steve there in the ice because Bucky’s incredibly selfish, and the only thing he can say is _I’m sorry, I love you._

Steve wakes up in the future.

Everything’s changed, and with the modern medicine they have now he’d never have been in danger of dying young. Steve knows now that he can’t age, the supersoldier serum won’t let him, so he spends his time finding other ways to look for Bucky. He goes on missions with the Avengers, and risks his life helping others again. But he still feels empty inside without Bucky, until a particularly close call leaves him hospitalized and as close to death as he can get.

Bucky remembers the man in front of him.

When Bucky sees Steve lying there in the hospital bed, Bucky remembers the deal he made with Sarah almost a hundred years ago. He remembers Steve, the boy he promised to watch over, the man he fell in love with but knew he would outlive. Bucky remembers the way his heart ached for an eternity after he left Steve in the ice, and he remembers how much he loved him. But now he’s found him again, and neither of them are dying any time soon.

Neither of them have ever felt more alive.

**Author's Note:**

> This fic has [fan art!!!](http://beardysteve.tumblr.com/post/123556735693/spacebucky-wrote-the-most-amazing) I never expected anyone to make art of it when I posted it on tumblr. Oh, and if you wanted to follow my trash blog I'm over [here](http://bucksbarnes.co.vu/) on tumblr.


End file.
